The Heroes of Light

New York was loud.

Vesper sat in a diner on 42nd Street, staring at a cup of coffee that tasted like burnt rubber. It had been three days.

She had her freedom. She had her life back.

And she hated it.

The noise of the city wasn't the comfortable banter she had with Syzygy. It was aggressive. It was indifferent. No one looked at her. She was invisible again.

On the television above the counter, a news report was playing.

*"Breaking News: The Inter-Dimensional Rift above the Atlantic is growing. A team of elite Heroes, led by Captain Apex, is preparing to enter the Singularity Spire to neutralize the entity known as the Void King."*

The screen showed Captain Apex—a man with a jawline you could crack walnuts on and a smile that screamed 'endorsement deal'.

*"We’re going to go in there,"* Apex told the reporter, *"kill the monster, and loot the castle. I hear the Void King has a stash of ancient artifacts. It’s payday, baby!"*

Vesper crushed her coffee cup in her hand. Hot liquid spilled over her fingers, but she didn't feel it.

"Payday," she hissed.

They weren't going to save the world. They were going to rob a dying man. They were going to kick down the door of the only being who had ever really *seen* her, and they were going to kill him for sport.

She looked around the diner. Everyone was on their phones. Everyone was disconnected.

"I am a void," she realized. "I am empty here."

She stood up. She threw a twenty-dollar bill on the table.

"Where are you going, lady?" the waitress asked.

"Home," Vesper said. "And I need to buy a very large gun. Or a broom. Whatever is available."